ABSTRACT

Materials may react chemically with their environment. These reactions may produce changes in the properties of materials as well as alterations in the environment. When the materials are metallic, composed of atoms coupled by metallic bonds, the reaction processes are collectively termed corrosion. In exceptional cases, bacteria and cells, such as macrophages, can mediate corrosion processes enzymatically; this phenomenon is properly termed biocorrosion. In all other cases, corrosion in vivo is identical to that elsewhere, depending on the material involved and the conditions of environmental exposure.